This is the first time that a schizophrenia/bipolar disorder diagnostic blood test has been developed that classifies patients into different subgroups that are each associated with distinct underlying disease mechanisms and specific drug targets. The discovery, using Curidium's proprietary technology Homomatrix®, of highly statistically significantly different schizophrenic/bipolar disease patient subgroups was announced previously by the Company.
Curidium's diagnostic test is based on the levels of expression of 28 genes in blood samples of schizophrenia/bipolar disorder patients. The test was designed using the Homomatrix® technology and gene expression data was applied from blood samples of 115 patient and control donors. The test was subsequently assessed using blood samples from a different group of 32 schizophrenia/bipolar disorder patients in order to determine the test's specificity and sensitivity. The overall specificity or ability of the test to avoid incorrectly selecting a patient for a subgroup was ninety-four percent (94%). The overall sensitivity, which determines the ability of the test to detect the subjects belonging to a subgroup, was seventy-eight percent (78%).
The Company believes its diagnostic test could potentially lead to the more accurate prescription of marketed products as well as enable the identification and development of better and/or new subgroup specific drug treatments. The test will potentially benefit 1) patients, providing safer and more effective treatments, 2) the pharmaceutical industry, allowing more time and cost effective development of new drugs and 3) healthcare payers, such that the prescription of ineffective treatments may be avoided. Generally, only a minority of schizophrenia/bipolar disorder patients respond to a drug treatment.
"The development of a blood test improving the accuracy of diagnosis and potential treatment of schizophrenia/bipolar disorder patients represents a significant advance in the treatment of these diseases," stated Dr. Anne Bruinvels, CEO of Curidium Medica plc. "This particular test and the application of Homomatrix to psychiatric and other disorders has the potential to support the development of much needed, effective and safe drugs for difficult-to-treat patients." -Curidium Medica plc
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